US regulator to test Nestle's India-made Maggi noodles

Zurich/Washington: Swiss giant Nestle's India-made Maggi has now come under the scanner of US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which has taken samples of the instant food brand for testing.

"We have been made aware that the (US) FDA has taken samples of Maggi noodles manufactured in India from third-party importers' containers for testing, and we have asked the importers to advise us of the outcome of the FDA tests," a Nestle SA spokesperson said in an emailed statement.

The FDA had in past one year rejected more than 2,100 import batches of 'made in India' products across food, personal care and health supplement categories, including those made by leading companies such as Hindustan Unilever, Britannia, Nestle India, Haldiram, Heinz India and MTR Foods.

Besides selling in India, Nestle India also exports Maggi noodles to the US, Canada, the UK, Australia, Singapore and Kenya.

The spokesperson, however, said Nestle USA does not import, market or distribute Maggi noodles in the United States.

"Any Maggi noodle products found on US store shelves are sourced directly by retailers or imported through third-party trade," she added.

Authorities in Kenya and the UK are also testing Maggi samples. The food regulator in Singapore had also tested the samples, but later found that Maggi noodles imported from India were safe to eat.

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) issued an order last week banning all variants of Nestle India's Maggi noodles, terming them as unsafe and hazardous for human consumption.

Nestle India had to recall the product from the market after several states banned the '2-minute' instant food as tests showed it contained taste enhancer MSG (monosodium glutamate) and lead in excess of permissible limits.